Argument as Issue Campaigns: WI Walker Proposal Issue Ads

Argument as Issue Campaigns allows inquiry into its metaphorical constructs and practices, as well as argument itself and issue campaigns. Study into such a metaphor demonstrates that argument can be inquiry, it can be intertextual, it is rarely a black and white issue, it is layered, it has exigencies and constraints, it is something that when placed into dichotomous and binary frameworks becomes overly simplistic and ultimately problematic. The campaign ads that aired during the WI Walker Proposal debate highlight how not only do they function as larger rhetorical texts, but they have micro texts within them that work to construct metaphors and layers of reinforcing texts aiming to strengthen messages. Additionally, by examining different sponsors of campaign advertisements Argument as Issue Campaigns highlight the role of interests in argument, in campaigns, and in rhetorical metaphors.